Straight Line Spotlight - February 2014

The Latest News in Camaro Drag Racing

From Dragster to Door-Slammer

The 2013 drag racing season included a rather radical driving adjustment for Steven Schmidt from Sheridan, Wyoming. Since 1999, Steven had done his drag racing exclusively behind the wheel of a Top Dragster, but exited the TD cockpit for a very different experience earlier this year. He is now racing a 396ci '68 Camaro equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. Steven acquired that car, which has a chassis by Gary Jennings, from a racer in Kansas. Steven's crew consists of his good friend Bret Layher and his two sons, Connor and Braden. They worked hard during their initial season with the Camaro, improving to a best e.t. of 10.40, which is four-tenths under his SS/F class index. Steven is very thankful for his valued sponsors Tinsley Drilling, High-Tech Transmissions, and AMP Automotive, as well as for the ongoing inspiration provided by his parents, Jim and Susan Schmidt.

2/5

Boburka to COPO Crusade

Longtime Camaro brand proponent and former two-time NHRA World Champion Jim Boburka is yet another prominent drag racer who has joined the ever-expanding fleet of COPO Camaros in the drag racing wars. Boburka, who is from Pennsylvania, is racing one of the first COPO cars to be delivered (#007), which was in fact the very first to run down a dragstrip back in August, 2012. Sponsored by Jim Crivelli Chevrolet, and with his crewman Charles Lingenfelter, Jim is currently running the car with a complete factory-built engine package with which he has run a best e.t. of 9.34 at 144 mph in CC/SA trim. Boburka reports that he will build a new 427 race motor for his car this winter and will debut that engine next season. In addition to Jim's history of drag racing Camaros being very deep (he began in 1969), his personal Camaro collection is impressive and includes two '69s, an '85, and a '10 six-speed.

3/5

The TBC Racing Flagship

Eight out of 10 dentists agree that Todd Logan's TBC Racing '01 Camaro is one of the sweetest Super Gas class cars out there. Logan, who is from Tannersville, Pennsylvania, began racing this car back in 2000 when he almost immediately received one of NHRA's “Best Engineering” awards. Since then, Todd's car has certainly withstood the test of time as it has been a very frequent runner and participant at major drag racing events in almost every corner of the United States. The super-reliable machine that is tuned by crew chief Richard Knarich Sr. features a 572ci big-block engine built by Boucher's Racing Engines (Rowley, Massachusetts) that produces in excess of 900 hp. Todd receives valued sponsorship from High Performance Computing, MSP Digital Marketing, and the Greg Barber Company. Logan is a true Camaro enthusiast as he and wife own a numbers-matching '69 Z/28; a '69 Z/28 bracket car; a '99 SS convertible; a '68 RS, and a '10 SS, which is his daily driver.

4/5

Super High Tech SS

When it comes to Super Stock Camaro drag cars, few will argue against the Pennsylvania-based Guest and Rinehart SS/DA as being one of the most thoughtful cars ever built for the category. Driven by Marty Rinehart Jr. and co-owned by Larry Guest and Marty Rinehart Sr., the 396ci/375hp Camaro is a bona fide fan favorite because of its amazing starting line launches, which are consistently sky high. The car, which was completely built in-house at Rinehart's Performance Race Cars, is truly a technological marvel featuring a chromoly chassis and high innovation throughout the suspension setup. The car is also used as a testbed where the very latest in ATI Performance Products—both transmissions and converters—are put through their initial paces. The stunning-looking car, which features paint by "the Paintin' Place" was first debuted back in 2003, and it has run as quick as 9.58 seconds to date. Marty's terrific team is sponsored by ATI Performance Products, Auto Meter, Santhuff, JE Pistons, Oliver Rods, Hoosier Tires, Jegs, ICON, and H&H Construction.